Africa Angle – The Agricultural Route to African Jobs

Today, more than 20 percent of youth in sub-Saharan Africa are unemployed. As 10 million young Africans are expected to enter the labor market each year, unemployment will likely become much worse.

In a blog on The African Angle, Eugenie Maiga argues that agriculture is one avenue for job creation oriented to the reality of African economies.

One avenue for job creation oriented to the reality of African economies is agriculture. Several reasons suggest that agriculture is the way to go. First, Africa has the largest share uncultivated of arable in the world (about 60 percent according to McKinsey). Subsequently, more land be used to employ more Africans. Next, recurrent food price crises indicate the urgent need to boost agricultural productivity so countries’ buffer stocks can be appropriately supplied and used to help mitigate spikes in food prices, thereby preventing food riots.